This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1965, primarily in the United States. Most tornadoes form in the U.S., although some events may take place internationally. Tornado statistics for older years like this often appear significantly lower than modern years due to fewer reports or confirmed tornadoes.
1965 picked up where 1964 left off, becoming the most active year on record at the time. A total of 31 violent (F4 and F5) tornadoes also touched down, which was also a record, with 17 of the F4 tornadoes occurring during the 1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak.
An outbreak of four tornadoes struck South Florida between 10 a.m.–1 p.m. EST (15–18 UTC); the strongest was an F3 tornado that moved through the Fort Lauderdale metro area, injuring six people. Two other people were injured from the three other tornadoes, resulting in eight people being injured in total from the outbreak.[3][4]
March
There were 34 tornadoes confirmed in the United States in March.
March 16–18
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F0
F1
F2
F3
F4
F5
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5
8
5
5
1
0
A deadly and destructive outbreak of 24 tornadoes struck the Great Plains and Southeast, killing two and injuring 129.
April
There were 123 tornadoes confirmed in the United States in April.[5]
Picture of the "double tornado" that hit the Midway Trailer Park in Indiana, killing 14.
An extremely destructive and deadly outbreak of 55 tornadoes caused major damage from the Southern Plains to the Midwest. The main outbreak was the Palm Sunday tornado outbreak, which started in the afternoon of April 11 and continued through the overnight hours of April 12. The second-biggest tornado outbreak on record at the time, this deadly series of 48 twisters inflicted a swath of destruction from Cedar County, Iowa, to Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and a swath 450 miles long (724 km) from Kent County, Michigan, to Montgomery County, Indiana. The outbreak lasted 16 hours and 35 minutes and is among the most intense outbreaks, in terms of number, strength, width, path, and length of tornadoes, ever recorded, including at least four "double/twin funnel" tornadoes. In addition, 17 tornadoes were rated F4, the second-largest number of violent twisters in one outbreak, after the 1974 Super Outbreak. At one point, all nine counties in the northern Indiana office's jurisdiction were under a tornado warning, marking the first occurrence of a "blanket tornado warning" in the U.S. Weather Bureau's history.[7] However, as was the case in many other areas heavily affected, the outbreak began on Palm Sunday, an important holy day for most Christians, and many people were attending church services, which may explain why some tornado warnings were never received. As a result, 266 people were killed and 3,662 injured with 1,795 of them in Indiana alone. It was also the deadliest tornado outbreak in Indiana history, with 137 people killed.[8][9]
This major severe weather event affected much of the Central United States on May 5–8, 1965. For four consecutive days, tornado outbreaks produced at least three significant (F2+) tornadoes each day, and at least two violent (F4–F5) tornadoes on three of the four days. The strongest tornado of the year occurred on May 8, when an F5 tornado struck Gregory, South Dakota. The entire sequence generated 77 tornadoes, including 37 significant tornadoes with nine of them becoming violent. There were 17 fatalities and 772 injuries.[10][11][12]
May 25–27
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F0
F1
F2
F3
F4
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16
11
8
1
0
0
A large outbreak produced multiple strong tornadoes from the Great Plains to the Mississippi Valley. Areas near Pratt, Kansas were struck by an F3 tornado, just one of nine significant tornadoes during the event. There were 39 tornadoes confirmed and 48 people were injured, although there were no fatalities.[13]
June
There were 147 tornadoes confirmed in the United States in June.
June 2
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F0
F1
F2
F3
F4
F5
0
0
1
0
0
1
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An F1 tornado in Iowa was followed by a long-tracked, violent F4 tornado that killed four and injured 76 in Texas.
June 4
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4
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1
1
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An outbreak of nine tornadoes struck the Midwest and Georgia, killing one and injuring three.
June 7
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2
1
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2
1
0
An intense, localized outbreak of 10 tornadoes hit South Dakota and Iowa, killing two.
July
There were 85 tornadoes confirmed in the United States in July.
July 5
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F1
F2
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F4
F5
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2
3
0
0
0
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Two of the five weak tornadoes that touched down on this day occurred in California. There were no casualties.
August
There were 61 tornadoes confirmed in the United States in August.
August 17
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F1
F2
F3
F4
F5
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2
0
1
1
0
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Four widely scattered tornadoes touched down with an F3 twister in South Carolina injuring 46.
August 26–27
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F1
F2
F3
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F5
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2
3
2
0
1
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A small, but destructive outbreak of eight tornadoes hit areas from Kansas to Pennsylvania, killing one and injuring 19.
September
There were 64 tornadoes confirmed in the United States in September.[14]
September 3
An isolated, brief, but strong F3 tornado injured 27 in Kansas.
An outbreak sequence of six tornadoes occurred from Colorado to New York, although there were no casualties.
September 14
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F0
F1
F2
F3
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0
0
1
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1
0
0
An outbreak of seven tornadoes hit Illinois and Indiana, injuring 34.
September 20–23
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F0
F1
F2
F3
F4
F5
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8
8
6
4
0
0
An outbreak sequence of 26 tornadoes hit various regions of the country, injuring four. F0 tornadoes also touched down in Hawaii and Puerto Rico at the end of the outbreak.
October
There were 16 tornadoes confirmed in the United States in October.
